A serious condition where poisonous toxins produced by bacteria in the intestines enter the bloodstream, causing systemic illness and potentially fatal shock.
From 'entero-' (intestine) + 'toxemia' (poisons in the blood, from Greek 'toxikon' meaning poison). This condition was formally named and studied in the late 19th and 20th centuries as bacterial pathology advanced.
Enterotoxemia is how a localized gut problem becomes a whole-body crisis—toxins from intestinal bacteria can trigger life-threatening septic shock, which is why veterinarians watch for 'enterotox' in livestock after sudden diet changes.
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